Theresienstadt ghetto-labor camp scrip, 2 kronen note, acquired by a Jewish Lithuanian survivor
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.125 inches (5.398 cm) | Width: 4.375 inches (11.113 cm)
Creator(s)
- David Klipp (Subject)
Biographical History
David Klipp was born on July 9, 1905, in Skudy (Skuodas), Lithuania. On January 17, 1940, David was forced out of his apartment and was brought to the ghetto in Łódź, Poland. In spring 1944, the Germans decided to destroy the Ghetto. On August 28, 1944, he was transported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He was on the same transport as Chaim Rumkowski and Leon Rosenblat. He was then selected for forced labor and sent to Continental-Gummi-Werke, AG factory, a subcamp of Neuengamme. He worked on the upper floors where rubber was cooked. On November 30, 1944, David was sent to Ahlem, also a subcamp of Neuengamme, to work in an old asphalt mine. Ahlem was being evacuated on April 6, 1945, when the prisoners were liberated by British and American soldiers. David relocated to Hannover, Germany on December. 11, 1945. While there, he met his future wife Estelle. She had been deported from Łódź and survived Auschwitz, Sasel, and Bergen Belsen concentration camps. David emigrated to the United States in 1950.
Archival History
The Theresienstadt scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1989 by David Klipp.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of David Klipp
Scope and Content
Scrip, valued at 2 kronen, issued in the Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto-labor camp and acquired by David Klipp. All currency was confiscated from deportees upon entry and replaced with scrip and ration coupons that could be exchanged only in the camp, located in German occupied Czechoslovakia. David was deported on Janaury 17, 1940, to Łódź Ghetto in Poland from Lithuania. On August 28, 1944, he was transported to Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He was on the same transport as Chaim Rumkowski, the head of the Jewish Council. David was then selected for forced labor and sent to Continental-Gummi-Werke, AG factory, a subcamp of Neuengamme. He worked on the upper floors where rubber was cooked. On November 30, he was sent to Ahlem, another Neuengamme subcamp, to work in an old mine. Ahlem was being evacuated on April 6, 1945, when the prisoners were liberated by British and American soldiers. David relocated to Hannover, Germany on December. 11, 1945. He emigrated to the United States in 1950.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Theresienstadt scrip printed on rectangular, offwhite paper in red/brown and light red ink. The face has a vignette with an image of Moses, a bearded man with a wrinkled brow, holding 2 stone tablets with the 10 Commandments in Hebrew. To the right is the denomination 2 and German text. The background rectangle has a geometric latticework pattern. On the right is a wide, offwhite border with 2 in the bottom corner below a Star of David. The reverse has a background rectangle with an interlocked diamond pattern, overprinted with German text, an engraved signature, and a scrollwork line. The denomination 2 is in the upper right corner. On the left is a wide, off-white border with 2 in the lower corner below a Star of David in a lined circle. The plate letter and number are in the upper left corner. Scrip is discolored but appears unused.
Subjects
- Concentration camps--Economic aspects.
- Slave labor--Germany--Biography.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Lithuania--Personal narratives.
- Concentration camp inmates--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Conscript labor--Germany--Personal narratives.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Łódź--Personal narratives, Lithuanian.
Genre
- Exchange Media
- Object